Sidewinder Explorer Reel

North Florida cave diver, Woody Jasper, first invented the Explorer Reel around 1980. As cave explorations were becoming longer, deeper, and more extensive a reel was needed that could help an explorer make some serious penetrations into a virgin cave system. Less likely to entangle than other reels on the market, Woody’s original reel was made of aluminum and a PVC spool. The side-handle style of the reel lent itself to exploration because it could easily switch from hand to hand while laying out line. Twenty years later, sidewinder-style reels were popularized in the technical diving community when DIR aficionados began using them for paying out line in deep caves at high speed on a DPV. Our Sidewinder series of reels are designed to be anti-jam by using precision machine tolerances between the frame and the spool making it nearly impossible for the line to slip between the spool and the handle. Choose between our Cave Explorer Reel (RE51900) with 900-feet of #24 line or our Wreck Explorer Reel (RE51550) that has 550-feet of #36 line, both with extra large stainless bolt snap.

• DuPont fiber braid line provides strength and minimizes fraying.
• Cave series reels use #24 braid line giving 220-lbs of breakage strength. Wreck series reels use #36 braid line giving 350-lbs of breakage strength.
• Injection molded ABS spool resists breakage and cracking.
• Marine grade stainless steel axle is corrosion resistant.
• High quality aircraft grade aluminum frame is corrosion resistant.
• Marine grade stainless steel bolt snap is corrosion resistant.
• Knurled lockdown screw has a low profile to prevent snagging
• 2.68 lbs (1.21 kg)

1. Before diving with a new reel (or a dry reel that has been in storage), put the reel in a bucket of water and after soaking, pay out the entire length of line and reel it back in. This will moisten the line, precluding it from swelling on the reel and further preventing the possibility of jamming or damaging the spool.
2. As with most dive equipment, you should rinse your reel with fresh water following each dive. You should also periodically disassemble the reel, and remove any build up of salt or sediment on its internal parts.
3. Dive Rite recommends pulling some or all of the line off the spool before each dive, then rewinding it neatly but not too tightly, so as to prevent the possibility of jamming during line deployment.
4. Finally, too much line on the spool can cause jams during initial deployment, if you are having a problem with jams try removing 10 or 15 feet of line.